Ekaterina Zaharieva: Supporting the private sector is a key task for Bulgarian diplomacy
17 September 2018 News
‘The Bulgarian business community has my complete understanding and support. There is surely a lot to improve in the way the government administration works but I am sure that your feedback is very important so that we would see where we err and what needs to be put right. It is a key task for Bulgarian diplomacy to support our business community.’ Those were the words of Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, at a discussion on ‘Summing up the Bulgarian Presidency and how we see the future of the EU: social and economic security’, organized jointly with the Association of the Bulgarian Employers’ Organizations (ABEO).
Attending the forum were over 40 members of industry associations and corporate executives in different sectors. Radosvet Radev, the Executive Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and rotational President of ABEO, who kicked off the discussion, gave thanks to Minister Zaharieva for her participation in the debate.
‘Now, after the close of the Bulgarian Presidency, we should make the best possible use of the conclusions and analyses that were made to get a clear perspective of what remains to be done to contribute to the future of Bulgaria in all spheres,’ Zaharieva told the audience. Our top diplomat pointed out that the biggest positive effect of the Presidency was Bulgaria’s demonstration of an exceptionally high level of purposeful ambition and capability, the likes of which it had not shown in the 11 years since joining the European Union. ‘We should make the most of that ambition, of the capacity built over the past 6 months by the public administration, the private sector, the social partners; of the image that we managed to create for ourselves in order to keep Bulgaria on the upswing,’ she added.
The representatives of Bulgarian employer organizations were unanimous in their appreciation of the recently ended Presidency, especially with respect to the Western Balkans, an accomplishment through which Bulgaria revived a process that had begun many years ago. Evgeny Ivanov, the Executive Director of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG), underscored the key importance of the Sofia Summit and the Final Declaration of the forum, while also stressing that with joint efforts, the ‘Sofia Process’ must become a notion.
The Foreign Minister emphasized that the Presidency would undoubtedly be remembered for raising the topic of the European perspective of the countries in the Western Balkans to the very top of the EC agenda. In her words, Bulgaria is very well-placed in the neighboring region, so it is important that the public administration would work in concert with the business community in order to make the most of the existing potential in terms of investments and attracting human resources from the Western Balkans.
The Deputy Prime Minister placed a special emphasis on the need to reset past relationships in the economic sphere and regain the positions of Bulgarian business in regions like Africa, Asia and the Middle East. She identified as a step in the right direction the organizing of joint business forums with countries in those regions both at EU level and in bilateral formats. ‘My Moroccan counterpart, whom I met last week, and I agreed that the delegation for the upcoming visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister to that country will include representatives of the Bulgarian private sector,’ Ekaterina Zaharieva said.
The Foreign Minister briefed the captains of industry on Bulgaria’s progress so far with respect to its membership of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Schengen and ERMII. ‘It is in Bulgaria’s best interest to join the most integrated core of the EU,’ Zaharieva said and thanked the employer organizations for their support and proactive role in the process.
‘It was the business sector that steered us towards OECD and defined our membership there as a priority,’ said our top diplomat, noting that in the past year Bulgaria has been working with great vigor for an invitation to start the negotiations to join the organization. An effective coordination mechanism for work with the OECD is in place, and action plan for 2018 has been approved and the relevant budget set aside for the purpose, the Foreign Minister explained.
In his statement Vasil Velev, the President of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AICB), stressed that the priorities of Bulgaria’s foreign policy must derive from our long-term economic interests as a nation. Speaking about the shortage of human resources in some business areas, he raised before Deputy Prime Minister Zaharieva the matter of bilateral agreements for regulating labor migration.
Our top diplomat informed the audience that Bulgaria is working actively in that respect. A bilateral agreement with Moldova is to be promulgated, in order to come into effect. A similar agreement with Armenia is expected to be finalized soon. Bulgaria has sent a draft for an agreement to Ukraine and is expecting a reply.
Speaking to the participants in the meeting, Minister Zaharieva underscored that the government is working to streamline the administrative procedures involved in issuing long-term visas to foreign seasonal workers. At present, changes in the relevant ordinance that would reduce the time limit for issuance of such visas from 35 business to 15 calendar days are being coordinated between the institutions.
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